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'Best' Fake Blog of 2006 Awarded

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the all-i-want-for-xmas-is-no-corporate-shills dept.

schwaang writes "Advertising is an integral part of the Web, and its revenues make the likes of Google possible for all of us. But when PR firms promote products by pretending to be real bloggers, some think it crosses the line into unethical 'astroturf'. The Consumerist held a contest for best 'Flog' of 2006. And the winner is... Sony for it's fake all-I-want-for-Xmas PSP blog (which Slashdot readers will no doubt remember). Runners up included Walmart and McDonald's. And the award itself? Well, it's something you might find on on a fake lawn."

9 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. tasty cake? by piotru · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ehem, what was the dominant opinion on Slashdot in the matter of a proposed legislation to force payed bloggers to register? eat your cake now... :( (not a flamebait)

    1. Re:tasty cake? by dangitman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ehem, what was the dominant opinion on Slashdot in the matter of a proposed legislation to force payed bloggers to register?

      I don't know, what was the dominant opinion? It seemed pretty divided. Anyway, what does making poilitical lobbyists register have to do with fake blogs for marketing purposes?

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  2. Fake Steve! by Durandal64 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Fake Steve is, by far, the best fake blog ever.

  3. Facing Foreclosure by back_pages · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is admittedly a long shot, but if Casey Serin at http://iamfacingforeclosure.com/ turns out to be fake, it will be one of the best con jobs ever performed.


    My only reason for thinking that it's fake is because it's really, really hard to believe that someone with a lack of sense, intelligence, and decision making ability as catastrophic as Casey's could actually surive to age 24.


    With every update, I find myself asking, "This can't be for real. Nobody is dumb enough to be $2.2M in debt, unemployed, penniless, and sign up for $52/year roadside assistance just because the offer showed up in the mail." Yet that's exactly what this genius claims to have done. It may be a long shot, but I cannot convince myself that Casey Serin is 100% nonfiction.

    1. Re:Facing Foreclosure by alphaseven · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He was interviewed on NPR a few weeks ago, so surely they did some research to see if he's legit.
      James Frey was a bestselling writer who had appeared Oprah and had done tons of interviews and a movie deal before anyone did the slightest bit of research to see if his memoir was legit. It's certainly within the realm of possibility of being fake.
  4. Ettiquette by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm friggin Steve Jobs!
    A handshake is considered more traditional in a business context.
  5. All time greatest... by svunt · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...has to be the livejournal of the Illmatic, North Korean president Kim Jong-Il.

  6. Re:Editors Living In Glass Houses by Baddas · · Score: 4, Informative

    He paraphrases and regurgitates large quantities of articles onto his blog and tries to get them linked to slashdot to increase his advertising revenue.

    He doesn't actually add anything to the stories, merely acts as a middle man to siphon off some of the ad revenue.

    Thus, people are bothered because slashdot links to him when they could link directly to the primary source with no more effort.

  7. Re:Pot... kettle... black by glindsey · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What, you can't be bothered to click a single FAQ link where they clearly state that they are published by Gawker Media? And you compare this to fake blogs which actively try to deceive the reader as to who really writes them? Give me a break.

    I suppose you'll now say that CNN, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, and the like are all "fronts" because they're all published by a single company.